Isidingo’s headaches

Production company Endemol CEO Sivan Pillay will tell you the soapie is still the most watched on SABC3 and there is no crisis.

Recently, the producers of the show have been doing their best to restore the show to its former glory. First, they hired the striking Pearl Thusi in the hope the popular beauty could bring with her the Twitter generation and their short attention span. Thusi is a decent actress, but she alone could not effect the change the channel had hoped for.

Then came the appointment of a British head writer, Liam Stratton. He did not last too long on the show and Pillay described the move as a “big mistake”. The soapie was in the headlines once again when veteran actor Don Mlangeni, who plays Zeb Matabane, had to face disciplinary action for refusing to utter a sponsor’s words without pay in one of his scenes.

Jet Novuka and Noluthando Meje were then added to the cast to bring a working class grit to the show and create some conflict between the rich and the poor. A new head writer, in Rowan Dickson, has taken the helm and executive producer Pumla Hopa now takes on directorial duties from time to time.

TARGET MARKET. Pearl Thusi was roped in last year in a bid to attract younger fans. Pictures: Supplied.

Things certainly looked amiss when Michelle Botes’s character, the much loathed and sometimes loved character of Cherel de Villiers Heyns, made a return, but she was soon to leave the show again.

The most recent attempt to ease the show out of murky waters involved moving it to a 7pm timeslot to avoid a ratings collision with the drab but successful Scandal on e.tv. It was also not too long ago that Skhumbuzo, played by Sisa Hewana, and the Sibeko family were added to the show. Late last year, rumours did the rounds that Thusi was not professional enough, often coming to work late and ill-prepared for her scenes. The exit of seasoned actor Vusi Kunene to join Isibaya was yet another setback.

Now a new strategy playing out on Horizon Deep involves the inclusion of Anthony Oseyemi as a call actor. But is throwing money at the problem, in the sense of introducing new actors and characters into the storyline really the way to go?

When the show burst on to our screens in the late ’90s it had a sense of timing and occasion. Gray Hofmeyr’s involvement was pivotal in articulating the general mood of the country at the time. Today’s stories are not as obviously in tune with what’s going on, hence the many changes and experiments.

Oseyemi’s character, Hamilton, is still in his honeymoon phase. He has come to Horizon Deep as Papa G’s accountant and an all-round do gooder. His character is still developing with every word he utters. Those who have made soapie watching a long term project will determine quickly enough he comes into the show with good intentions but will more than likely prove to be a bad apple.

Oseyemi’s inclusion seems to be working in the interim, but only time will tell whether his character or the other recent changes made to the show will bear any fruit.